


Right Up My Alley

by kyuthighs



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Kid!Jongin, Kid!Sehun, M/M, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O, awkward chanchen, don't let this fic go in the gutter, haha get it?, probably inaccurate bowling instructions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-05-16 04:37:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19310761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyuthighs/pseuds/kyuthighs
Summary: Jongdae refuses to let Baekhyun beat him at anything. So when he gets challenged to an actual game of bowling, one that's not on the Wii, he decides to get serious and hire a bowling teacher. Enter Park Chanyeol, the bowling master who strikes his way into Jongdae's heart.





	Right Up My Alley

**Author's Note:**

> written for prompt EF23
> 
> Thank you to the prompter for giving me an excuse to write what im passionate about, to my friends for reading this over and supporting me, and a big thank you to mod azula for hosting this fest and giving me an extension when I needed one.

Was this absolutely, completely unnecessary? Yes. Was this a waste of time and money? Also yes. Maybe the decision to hire a bowling teacher for one single game was a fool’s move, but Kim Jongdae would rather be a fool than lose to fucking Byun Baekhyun.

It all started when he was over at Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s place. They decided to play a friendly game of Wii Bowling. And by friendly, it meant that Baekhyun and Jongdae were yelling at each other over supposed “cheating” while Kyungsoo sat back on the couch and watched the two fight. He didn’t care about who won the fight, he was winning by enough that it didn’t matter if Jongdae really had found cheat codes for the wii. 

The game ended with Kyungsoo having a near perfect score, Jongdae in second, and Baekhyun coming in last by only a few points. 

Baekhyun would not shut up about Jongdae beating him because he cheated.

“I bet if this was a real game I’d kick your ass.” Baekhyun said.

“Oh please. Even if it was real, I’d still beat you.” Jongdae replied.

“Without your stupid cheats, you’d never win.”

“For the last time I didn’t cheat.”

“I don’t believe you. You did something funky with your controller I saw it!”

“I didn’t do anything! You’re just a sore loser.”

Before the argument could escalate again, Kyungsoo jumped in.

“Why don’t you guys just settle this over a real game of bowling?”

Both Baekhyun and Jongdae stared at him.

“What do you mean a ‘real’ game of bowling?” Jongdae asked.

Kyungsoo looked at him like he was stupid, which was nothing new, but Jongdae felt like he was missing something.

“...Like at a bowling alley? What else would I mean?”

“Wait,” Baekhyun said, “Are you trying to say that bowling is an actual sport? Not just on the Wii?”

A loud silence settled over the room as Kyungsoo just stared at them. Jongdae and Baekhyun exchanged glances, a momentary truce established in the confusion.

“Oh my god,” Kyungsoo said, when he realized he wasn’t being punked, “I’m dating a dumbass.”

“I mean, yeah, you’re just realizing?” Jongdae said.

“Hey! Fuck you.” Baekhyun elbowed Jongdae.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “Both of you are so stupid. I can’t believe this. Bowling,” he said slowly as if talking to two toddlers, “is an actual real sport. Not just on the Wii.”

The room paused, then Jongdae snorted, “Yeah, sure, okay. I think I would’ve known if bowling was an actual thing.”

“It is,” Kyungsoo ran a hand over his face, “There’s literally a bowling alley, the place where people _bowl_ , like ten minutes from here.”

“How would you know that?” Baekhyun asks, “Are you telling me you secretly go out bowling without me?”

“No, Baekhyun, I don’t secretly go out to bowl.” Kyungsoo let out a long suffering sigh. “I have a friend who works there.”

“Oh.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun exchanged glances. It didn’t _seem_ like Kyungsoo was lying to them.

“Well, then.” Baekhyun said, “Since bowling is really a thing then I, Byun Baekhyun, bet you, Kim Jongdae, that I can get a higher score.”

And, well, now Jongdae sits on a cheap, tall, plastic chair, his legs lightly swinging as he waits for his teacher to show up. 

He doesn’t have to wait long. It’s only takes about five minutes of people watching before a low voice comes from behind him.

“Excuse me, are you Jongdae?”

Jongdae spins in his chair. _Oh. That is an attractive man_. Jongdae eyes the man who he assumes, he hopes, is his new bowling teacher. 

“That would be me,” he says locking eyes with the much taller man, “You must be Chanyeol, right?” Jongdae stands and extends his hand.

“The one and only,” he smiles, taking Jongdae’s offered hand. Jongdae tries not to swoon over just how much bigger Chanyeol’s hand is. He fails.

Jongdae wonders how Kyungsoo managed to make such a hot friend, and more importantly _how_ could he dare keep him a secret from Jongdae when Kyungsoo knows just how painfully single jongdae is. 

“Kyungsoo told me you had a bet going on? You need to beat his boyfriend or something?” Chanyeol asked. 

At the mention of the bet, Jongdae snapped out of his Chanyeol induced train of thought. 

“I can’t just beat Baekhyun,” Jongdae narrowed his eyes, “I have to completely obliterate him.”

Chanyeol laughs, and Jongdae wants to cry because it’s a beautiful laugh that drowns out all the sounds of pins falling and children screaming from the alley around them. 

“You’ve come to the right person then. I happen to be the best bowler in this city.”

“Only the city?” Jongdae teases. “I couldn’t get the best bowler in all of Korea to teach me?”

Chanyeol gives a little cocky grin, “Well, I didn’t want to seem too arrogant but…” Chanyeol’s grin gets wider as jongdae lets out a tiny chuckle. “Come on,” Chanyeol says, “let’s get you some shoes and then we can get started on our first lesson.”

Chanyeol turns his back to Jongdae to lead him to the shoe rental counter. Jongdae walks behind him, eyes drinking in the width of Chanyeol’s shoulders. Jongdae thinks Chanyeol’s black shirt fits him _very_ nicely, but his drooling stops when he spots the wording on the back of the shirt.

Jongdae really can’t believe what he’s seeing. And maybe he’s being dramatic, but honestly what kind of cruel joke is God playing on him? How could he deliver such a beautiful man to Jongdae but then put him in a shirt that says “I may seem quiet and reserved but if you mess with me while im bowling I will break out a level of crazy that will make your nightmares seem like a happy place.” 

Jongdae really hopes Chanyeol is wearing that shirt ironically because no matter how hot Chanyeol is Jongdae isn’t ready for… _that_ level of craziness.

After Jongdae gets his shoes - just Jongdae, Chanyeol informed him that he had his own pair because of course he does - they make their way to one of the back lanes.

Jongdae doesn’t know what to expect from Chanyeol. He hopes he isn’t as crazy as his shirt makes him out to be. Jongdae doesn’t really fancy being yelled at in the middle of a bowling alley because he just learned that a turkey is three strikes in a row and not just a meat that tastes like napkins.

“Okay, Kyungsoo told me you were a complete beginner?” Chanyeol asked.

“Yep, unless the Wii counts as experience.”

“It doesn’t,” Chanyeol laughed, “but that’s okay. I’m used to teaching beginners.”

They finished tying their laces, and Jongdae moved to take a ball. 

“Do you even know what weight is best for you?” Chanyeol stopped him.

“Uhhh, yes, of course,” Jongdae said. Yes Jongdae knew that there were different weights. He wasn’t an idiot. 

Okay, he was. He thought it was a ‘one size fits all’ situation.

Chanyeol arched his brow at the blatant lie. “Right. Well, it’s recommended that you use a ball that’s your weight divided by 11. Since you’re a beginner though I’d recommend going down two pounds from that.”

“Huh,” Jongdae said, “Interesting.”

After Jongdae had done some mental math, he selected the appropriate ball, a 12 pound neon orange one, and put it on the rack. Chanyeol pulled out his own personal ball, which Jongdae kind of expected since he had his own shoes too. 

“First, I’ll demonstrate.” Chanyeol said, stepping up. “Then I’ll go slower so you can see what I’m doing. Sound good?”

Jongdae nodded and watched as Chanyeol shifted from the carefree person Jongdae just met to something way more… _intense_. His strong jaw was set, his eyes were focused on the lane in front of him, Jongdae could tell he was in control of every muscle in his body. Jongdae watched him take a few surefooted steps, his right arm swinging back. The momentum swung his arm forward, and wow, those were some nice forearms. The ball released cleanly and the two of them watched as it went down the lane, slightly curving at the end to hit the side of the front pin, causing a strike. 

Jongdae had never considered a sport like bowling could be hot, but the way Chanyeol played it...Jongdae was reconsidering things especially with the slightly smug look Chanyeol wore after all 10 pins toppled.

“Okay, let me break that down for you.” Chanyeol waited for his ball to be returned.

“The key of the game is focus. You can’t be distracted if you want to win. When you stand in front of the pins, you have to focus on them. Imagine the ball hitting in between the first and third pin. It’s better to hit there instead of straight on.” 

Chanyeol grabbed his returned ball and cleaned it with a cloth he produced from his bowling bag.

“For stance, you want to stand a little off to the side. Your ball is gonna go where your arm releases, not where your center is.”

Jongdae tried to make all the information stick.

“Hold the ball in front of you,” Chanyeol did the motions, “Take a step, then bring your arm back. You want it to be like a pendulum. Let gravity bring the ball down, and give it a clean release.” His ball left his hand and rolled to hit most of the pins.

“Did you get that?”

“I think so?” Jongdae said. “Envision. Pendulum. Gravity. Release.”

“I mean, I guess you’re not wrong.” Chanyeol replied. “Come up here and try.”

Jongdae grabbed his ball and stood at the lane. He brought the ball up like Chanyeol had. He scooted a little to the left to be off center. He took a few steps and tried his best to will his arm into a pendulum. Jongdae’s roll definitely didn’t look as nice as Chanyeol’s, and it definitely wasn’t heading where it was supposed to. Instead of hitting between the first and third pin, it went straight into the gutter. Great.

“Hey, that’s okay.” Chanyeol comforted him. “Your beginning stance was great. You did a great job of setting up and focusing.”

“I still got a gutterball though.” Jongdae frowned.

“You can’t expect a strike on your first try. You’ll get better. Trust me.”

That’s how the rest of the hour lesson continued. Chanyeol tried to teach by example. Jongdae tried his best to match him. Chanyeol had even maneuvered Jongdae into the right position a few times, the contact making Jongdae fight a blush. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, or how nicely the roll started, Jongdae’s ball always ended up in the gutter. He was sick of it. How could he beat Baekhyun if he couldn’t even hit a single pin.

“Don’t beat yourself up.” Chanyeol reassured him. “It takes some getting used to. Just try one more time. You’ll hit a pin this time, I promise.”

Jongdae highly doubted that, but he lined up for another try anyway. It was hard to say no to Chanyeol’s beautiful, encouraging face. 

Chanyeol’s beautiful, encouraging face must’ve held some kind of magic because Jongdae did hit a pin. Two pins actually. The sound of them falling was music to Jongdae’s ears. A sweeter tune than the alley’s throwback playlist currently blasting Usher.

“See!” Chanyeol exclaimed. He threw his hand up for a high five which Jongdae gave. “I told you!”

“That felt great, not gonna lie.” Jongdae smiled.

“Good, it should. Keep practicing and you’ll be hitting more than two in no time.”

“You sure about that?” 

“Absolutely. You have lessons the rest of the week, right?” Chanyeol asked.

Jongdae nodded.

“Then don’t worry. I’ll turn you into a pro bowler in no time.” Chanyeol said. “Or at least good enough to beat your friend.”

“You better,” Jongdae teased, “I’m spending good money to win this bet.”

Chanyeol laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it worth it.”

Jongdae thought about the way his stomach fluttered every time Chanyeol was close to him, the way his laugh filled a room, and the warmth and support he radiated when teaching. Jongdae figured his money was already well spent. 

The lesson the next day started off the same way as the first. Gutterball after gutterball. Jongdae was showing no signs of improvement no matter how many encouraging words and looks Chanyeol gave him. It seems as if Chanyeol’s magical charm wore off after the first day. 

Chanyeol ended up putting the bumpers up for Jongdae. Something Jongdae didn’t even know existed. He wondered why nobody else was using them. They were very useful. Jongdae barely had any gutterballs with them up. 

Jongdae was excited every time he knocked a pin down, whether it was one or six. He hadn’t managed to hit any more than six, but Chanyeol told him that was okay.

Jongdae felt like he owed a lot of his success not only to the bumpers, but to Chanyeol. He was a fantastic teacher, adjusting even the littlest things to make Jongdae bowl better. He was serious about bowling, yes, but he wasn’t overbearing, and he was nothing but encouraging.

Jongdae left the alley the second day with a smile on his face and a crush blooming in his chest.

The third lesson featured even more improvement. Jongdae figured practice really does make perfect. He was a long way from perfection, but he was definitely better than when he started. 

Jongdae even managed to get his first spare. That earned him an arm around his shoulders in a brief but warm side hug and a wide, heart melting smile from Chanyeol. It also earned him a graduation from the bumpers. Jongdae spent the last 20 minutes of the lesson trying his best to not get a gutterball every throw. He was mostly successful. Now he only got one gutterball per frame.

His score was increasing and so were the butterflies in his stomach that knocked around like fallen pins.

When Jongdae met up with Chanyeol for their second to last lesson, he didn’t expect a gaggle of children to be flocked around him. But there Chanyeol was, a giant in the midst of six year olds.

“Hey, Jongdae!” Chanyeol said, extracting himself from the cluster to greet Jongdae.

“Hello…” Jongdae said. “Why are there children everywhere? Please don’t tell me you’re secretly a father of 10 kids.”

Chanyeol laughed and shook his head. “No I’m not. This is the little league. I’m their coach!”

Jongdae resisted the urge to melt into a puddle. 

“Their coach?”

“Yeah!” Chanyeol replied. “And I hope you don’t mind, but their lesson is today too so I thought we could all practice together!”

Jongdae raised his brow, “You want me to bowl against six year olds?”

“Well you’re worse than the best kid so yeah.”

He wanted to be offended, but Jongdae knew Chanyeol was probably right. He refused to be embarrassed about that.

“Don’t worry,” Chanyeol said, “I’m sure you’ll be able to beat at least one of them.”

Jongdae gave him a flat stare, but Chanyeol was undeterred.

“Let me introduce you to them and we can get started!”

Chanyeol grabbed Jongdae’s hand and dragged him over to the kids. Jongdae hoped Chanyeol couldn’t feel how sweaty his hand was or how fast his pulse was racing. Chanyeol let his hand go to clap his together and call the children to attention.

“Okay, everyone!” He said brightly. “This is Jongdae, and he’s going to be practicing with us today.”

Jongdae gave a small smile and a little wave. 

“Is he your boyfriend?” A little boy called out, making the other kids giggle.

Jongdae and Chanyeol exchanged an awkward glance. The tips of Chanyeol’s ears were red and Jongdae felt his weren’t much better.

“No, Sehun,” Chanyeol squeaked, “Jongdae is not my boyfriend. I’m just giving him lessons, okay?”

The child named Sehun stared between them, eyes flicking to each of their faces. He shrugged. 

“If you say so.”

Jongdae blanched. Who did this child think he was? All Chanyeol did was let out a sigh.

“If nobody else has any questions, let’s get started, okay?”

With the only other question being “Mr. Chanyeol can you buy me a pretzel?” answered with a “No, Jongin, I will not buy you a pretzel.” Jongdae tied up his shoes and waited for instruction. 

Chanyeol made sure the kids were set up on their two lanes before he turned to Jongdae.

“Okay, Jongdae, here’s your plan.” Chanyeol said. “I’m gonna set you up on your own lane for now, but then towards the end of the lesson we’ll have a game between you and some of the kids. Sound good?”

“You’re the boss.”

Chanyeol watched him line up for his first throw, then corrected everything about it for his second one. Once Chanyeol was satisfied with Jongdae’s form, he was on his own. Jongdae tried to focus on himself, but that task was very difficult considering a very cute Chanyeol was being very cute with very cute kids. More often than not Jongdae found his attention slipping to the lanes beside him. 

His lack of focus reflected in his scores. He managed to hit a grand total of 7 pins in four frames. Six out of those eight throws were gutterballs. Chanyeol was right. The six year olds were doing better than him. But to be fair, the six year olds were not hopelessly crushing on their coach.

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae whined, “can you please put the bumpers up on my lane again.”

“One second,” Chanyeol called, busy helping a little girl line up her throw.

“You still need bumpers?” A small voice scoffed out next to him. He looked down to see Sehun giving him an unimpressed look. “You’re like, old, you’re not supposed to need bumpers.”

Jongdae frowned and started to open his mouth to retort, but Sehun was already saying something else.

“I’m seven, and I don’t need bumpers.” He said proudly.

“Sehun,” Chanyeol chastised, having finished helping the girl, “stop being rude.”

“I’m not rude! I’m just telling the truth!”

Chanyeol sighed. “Okay, Sehun, sure. Just get back to practice.”

Sehun pouted at the two of them before stalking off to grab his ball.

“Well isn’t he just the sweetest.” Jongdae joked.

“Sorry about that. Sehun is...Sehun is something.”

Jongdae laughed, endeared at the way Chanyeol knew his little bowlers.

“Anyway,” Chanyeol said, “you said something about putting bumpers up? I thought we agreed to not use them anymore. Yesterday’s practice went great.”

In a striking resemblance to Sehun, Jongdae pouted. “Yeah but look at my scores...I just wanna hit some pins.”

Chanyeol glanced up at the monitor.

“Man, I didn’t think it was possible to get that many gutterballs. I mean, excluding your first lesson.”

Jongdae slapped his arm. 

“I don’t know what’s wrong today,” Jongdae lied, but he wasn’t about to admit it was because Jongdae was too busy imagining a future in which Chanyeol was teaching their _own_ kids how to bowl. “I know I suck but not _this_ bad.”

“It’s okay. Here let me see your form again.”

Jongdae grabs his ball and lines up. He steps up to the line, swinging his arm back, before releasing. Halfway down the lane it takes a curve and ends up in the gutter. Again. 

“Your problem is that you’re throwing your arm out to the side. You need to keep it in. Keep it straight.”

“I am going to pretend I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Like this,” Chanyeol demonstrated.

Jongdae tried to imitate whatever Chanyeol just did, but it obviously was not satisfactory because Chanyeol was lining Jongdae up behind the line himself. His left hand rested on Jongdae’s left shoulder. His right grabbed Jongdae’s. Jongdae’s back was pressed against Chanyeol’s front, and Jongdae wanted to die. It would be a good way to die, in Chanyeol’s arms.

“You just,” Chanyeol said, voice too close to Jongdae’s ear, “want to keep it straight.”

He pulled Jongdae’s arm back then guided it forward, keeping it straight just like he said. Or as straight as it could be considering the arm was attached to a definitely Not Straight man.

Jongdae’s gay panic was interrupted by a chorus of high pitched ‘ewww’s. Jongdae and Chanyeol broke apart like they had been burned. The children had stopped their practice and were looking at the two men with open disgust.

“Mr. Chanyeol has cooties now!” Jongin screamed, which started another chorus of ‘eww cooties!’

“I do not have cooties,” Chanyeol argued, “Now get back to practice or I’m gonna tell your parents you guys were bad today.”

That shut the kids up and soon enough they were back to bowling, the cooties incident forgotten.

“These kids are gonna be the death of me,” Chanyeol sighed.

Jongdae grinned, “If the cooties don’t kill you first.”

“Hey, you were the one who gave me those cooties so what does that mean for you?”

“I guess we die together then.” Jongdae said in a serious tone.

Chanyeol snorted, “How romantic.”

It took a few seconds for Chanyeol’s word choice to register, but when it did, they both froze.

“Uh,” Chanyeol said hurriedly, “the uh, game between you and some of the kids is gonna start soon so get ready.”

He rushed off to wrangle the kids. Jongdae smiled to himself. Chanyeol was so cute.

Chanyeol ended up putting him against Sehun, the boy obsessed with pretzels (Jongin), and a girl named Wendy. Sehun was giving Jongdae major stink eye.

“Prepare to lose, Mr. Jongdae.” He said.

Jongdae was actually a little intimidated while Chanyeol just rolled his eyes at the child’s antics.

The game went about as well as Jongdae expected it to. He didn’t get first place, but he didn’t get last either. Sehun ended up beating all of them with a rather impressive score for a seven year old, Jongin beat Jongdae by one pin, and Wendy trailed by a mere ten pins behind Jongdae. 

The kids actually made for great opponents. Sehun was intense enough to give Jongdae a challenge, while Jongin and Wendy were just happy to have another person to play with.

Chanyeol had just let them play, rarely interrupting them. He simply observed so he could he help each of them later. 

Jongdae’s hour was over by the time the match ended, and he was untying his shoes when a small figure came into his view.

“Mr. Jongdae,” Jongin began, “Since I beat you in the game, will you buy me a pretzel? Pretty please?”

Jongdae looked up to see Jongin’s adorable face begging him. How was he supposed to say no? It was literally impossible. Jongdae sighed.

“Sure, I’ll buy you a pretzel.”

Jongdae didn’t think he had spoken that loudly, but apparently either his voice carried or these children possessed super hearing because suddenly, Jongdae was surrounded by all of the little league members begging him to buy them a pretzel too.

He could hear Chanyeol’s laugh over the cacophony of little voices.

“That’s why I always say no, Jongdae,” Chanyeol made his way over to him, “It’s an all or nothing deal.”

So that’s how Jongdae ended up spending $30 on snackbar soft pretzels. It was worth it though when Jongin ran up and hugged him and said thank you. Jongin also said that he wished Jongdae _was_ Mr. Chanyeol’s boyfriend, but Jongdae isn’t gonna think about that. 

The rest of the kids, including Sehun to Jongdae’s surprise, gave Jongdae greasy fingered hugs after they had inhaled their pretzels. Jongdae would take a thousand more grease stains if it meant Chanyeol would always look at him that fondly.

Chanyeol blushed when he was caught staring, but Jongdae simply returned his own fond smile.

“Okay kids that’s enough.” Chanyeol stood. “Finish your food and go wash your hands. We still have more practice. Jongdae has to go, though, so say goodbye.”

Ten different voices called out a goodbye to him in unison, before the kids ran off to the bathroom, Chanyeol yelling after them not to run.

“Thanks for doing that for the kids,” Chanyeol said. “It was really nice, and you didn’t have to.”

Jongdae waved him off, “I didn’t mind. Really. I’m glad they were happy.”

“Yes,” Chanyeol gave a short cough, “well, I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? For your last lesson.”

Jongdae’s heart sank at the realization that tomorrow was the last day.

“Yeah, tomorrow. See you.”

Jongdae gave a wave, and then left the alley. He could hear Sehun’s voice echo from the back of the alley.

“Are you _sure_ you guys aren’t boyfriends?”

Jongdae smiled to himself. He loved children.

The next day, Jongdae walked into the bowling alley with a heavy heart. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Chanyeol. Logically he knew he could just ask Chanyeol out. Jongdae was a bit of a weenie though. He didn’t want Chanyeol to reject him. Jongdae can’t deal with rejection. Just ask Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.

Jongdae had briefly considered just paying for more lessons, but the rational part of his brain and his bank account shut down that idea real quick. He figured he could just go bowling every now and again and hope that Chanyeol was working when he went. It was a bad plan, but it was the best one he had.

The lesson was a quieter one than usual. Well, as quiet as it could be in a busy bowling alley. Neither Jongdae nor Chanyeol had much to say, an odd occurrence for the both of them. 

The minutes ticked by, the hour going by too quickly for Jongdae’s liking. He wondered if Chanyeol would be working when him and Baekhyun had the match. 

_Oh_ , Jongdae thought, _duh. Why don’t I just invite him to the match_?

Jongdae’s mind was truly something spectacular. 

Thinking more about it though, Jongdae wondered if it was too bold of a move. Would Chanyeol be weirded out? What if he didn’t want to spend any more time with Jongdae? And then Chanyeol would have to meet Baekhyun. Did Jongdae really want to make Chanyeol suffer like that?

“Something on your mind?” Chanyeol interrupted his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been holding the ball and staring into the distance for a solid two minutes.”

Jongdae flushed and put his ball down.

“Well,” Jongdae started, “I don’t know if this would be weird,” he looked at the floor, “but I was thinking you could come to me and Baekhyun’s match? If you wanted to. As my like, support or something.”

“Your support?”

“Yeah, Kyungsoo’s coming, and he’s legally obligated to cheer on Baekhyun, so I figured you could cheer me on.”

Jongdae raised his eyes to see Chanyeol staring at him with an odd expression on his face.

“It’s cool if you don’t want to or are busy. I get it.”

“No, I’ll come. Just tell me when. I can even reserve you guys a lane.”

Jongdae wanted to sigh in relief, but he kept in. Because he’s cool and composed. 

“It’s next Friday, in the afternoon. That’s when we were all able to meet.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Chanyeol said. “I’ll be there for sure. I gotta support my best student.”

“Oh shut up we both know that’s a lie.”

Chanyeol simply laughed, and it was like the tension over the two of them had never existed. They finished the lesson, Jongdae managing to get two spares and an almost strike (stupid split). They ended the lesson with smiles on their faces and a promise to see each other at the match.

Jongdae didn’t have to wait until Friday to see Chanyeol, though. He actually decided to go to the alley on Tuesday and Thursday to get his own practice in. Chanyeol had been there, and he was thrilled to see Jongdae taking initiative and practicing on his own. When he wasn’t busy working, he even stopped by Jongdae’s lane to chat for a bit and give him some free pointers.

Even if Jongdae ended up losing to Baekhyun, he couldn’t really consider it a loss when he got to meet someone as striking as Chanyeol.

The day of the Big Match arrived, and Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo shuffled out of Kyungsoo’s old car and into the bowling alley. The familiar sound of pins falling and tacky 2000s pop music greeted Jongdae. The alley was pretty packed, only a few lanes remained empty. Perfect. Plenty of people to watch Jongdae hand Baekhyun’s ass to him on a platter.

Chanyeol had reserved one of the lanes for them as promised, so after grabbing their shoes they met him at the table. Much to Jongdae’s surprise and confusion, Baekhyun threw his arm around Chanyeol in greeting.

“Sorry, but do you two know each other?” Jongdae asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Baekhyun’s smile took on a wicked gleam, “Chanyeol’s my coach.”

Jongdae blinked. “No, sorry, that can’t be. He’s my coach.”

Baekhyun shook his head in pity, “Hate to break it to you man, but you aren’t the only one Chanyeol’s been teaching.”

The sheer amount of betrayal Jongdae felt in that moment was suffocating. Chanyeol had been coaching Baekhyun? Was what they had not special? Why would he train the enemy?

“You…” Jongdae began. Chanyeol at least had the decency to look sheepish. “You were coaching my arch nemesis behind my back? Is nothing sacred to you?”

“First of all,” Chanyeol began, “I will coach anyone for money. I am broke and I need it. Second, he made me swear not to tell you.”

“And you listened to him?”

“He’s scary! He threatened to shove a bowling ball up a very unflattering place!”

Jongdae couldn’t help but laugh at that because yeah, that sounded exactly like Baekhyun.

“As long as you did a better job teaching me than him then we’re fine.”

“Are y’all done with your drama episode? I don’t want to be here all day.” Kyungsoo interrupted.

“Yeah, babe, we’re done!” Baekhyun said cheerily. “Now it’s time for me to kick Jongdae’s ass fair and square.”

Jongdae rolled his eyes, not bothering to give a reply. Baekhyun and Jongdae laced up their rented shoes while Chanyeol put their names in the system. Kyungsoo was in Baekhyun’s corner, actively trying to avoid Baekhyun’s attempts at getting a good luck kiss. Chanyeol, despite committing high treason, was in Jongdae’s corner. 

“Remember what I said about the straight arm,” Chanyeol told him.

“Got it.”

“And don’t try anything fancy with curveballs, you aren’t advanced enough for those.” He said bluntly.

“Yes, Chanyeol, I know.”

“And remember to-”

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae cut him off, “Stop being more stressed than I am. Even if Baekhyun turns out to be better at bowling, I’m going to win out of pure pettiness.”

Chanyeol snorted. “Yeah, okay, you have a point.”

“Hey, lovebirds,” Baekhyun called, “are you done? Jongdae’s first.”

Sticking his middle finger up, Jongdae made to grab his ball and make the first throw. He tried to remember everything Chanyeol had taught him. He did his best to keep his arm straight, and aimed just to the side of the center pin.

He let go.

The ball rolled.

And rolled.

And knocked down three pins.

Jongdae was so relieved that his first throw wasn’t a gutterball, he got too excited and ended up putting his second throw in the gutter. Baekhyun laughed at him, but then did the exact same thing his turn. Jongdae was glad to see they were equally terrible.

The game continued like that, only a few pins being knocked down each frame, interspersed with gutterballs. It was the top of the 7th frame, the score was 50 to 56 in Baekhyun’s favor. Jongdae had to admit, he was a little worried. If he lost, Baekhyun would literally never shut up. Not like he ever shut up anyway, but still.

Chanyeol must’ve sensed Jongdae’s nerves, because he was calling for a time out.

“Does bowling even have time outs?” Kyungsoo asked.

“It does now.” Chanyeol said, motioning for Jongdae to put his ball down and join him.

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun shrugged, then Baekhyun began begging Kyungsoo to buy him a  
Coke. Which he did get eventually.

“Jongdae, I can tell you’re nervous.” Chanyeol said.

Jongdae sighed. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah kinda,” Chanyeol put his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder, “it’s okay though. You’re only down by six pins. You got this.”

“Maybe if you hadn’t coached Baekhyun I wouldn’t be losing,” Jongdae said lightheartedly, “but that’s none of my business.”

Chanyeol pouted. “Come on, Jongdae. I’m sorry, okay. And besides, I definitely didn’t teach Baekhyun all the tricks I showed you.”

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Baekhyun protested from the next table, pausing in his sip of Coke.

Both Jongdae and Chanyeol gave him the finger as Kyungsoo told him to shut up. Baekhyun took another sip through a pout.

“Point is,” Chanyeol continued, “you have all the skills needed to win. Just focus. Imagine the pins have Baekhyun’s face on them.”

Jongdae smiled.

“Why am I being attacked this fine day?”

“Don’t look at me,” Kyungsoo said, “I’m not helping you.”

“Thanks, Chanyeol,” Jongdae said, getting up and signalling the end of the time out.

Chanyeol gave him a thumbs up.

If this was a Hollywood story, Jongdae would’ve lined up for the shot and hit a miraculous strike. This, however, is not a Hollywood story, and Jongdae is just as bad of a bowler after encouraging words as he was before. He did manage to get 9 pins - a new record - and the final pin his second throw, which made that frame the first with no gutterballs and his first spare of the game..

It was enough to qualify for a hug from Chanyeol and a “I knew you could do it!” half shouted in his ear. They missed the way Baekhyun stage whispered “God, that’s so gay” to Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo’s subsequent chuckle.

Jongdae’s luck continued, and he managed to avoid the gutter for the remaining frames.  
Baekhyun was consistent and ended up lagging behind Jongdae in the scoring. With Baekhyun’s last throw on the tenth frame, the game ended 79 to 70, with Jongdae winning. It was the best game he had ever bowled, and the $100 he spent on lessons was _so_ worth the utter look of pure defeat on Baekhyun’s stupid face. 

He would’ve been okay paying triple that amount with the way Chanyeol scooped him up in a bone crushing hug, spinning him so hard he felt like a bowling ball on its way to hit a strike. 

“You guys done being super gay yet?” Baekhyun asked. “Kyungsoo said he’d buy me a consolation ice cream.”

Both Chanyeol and Jongdae spluttered and blushed at his words.

“Shut up, Baekhyun. Let them figure it out on their own.” Kyungsoo said.

“What are you even talking about,” Jongdae asked, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips.

“Yeah, it’s not,” Chanyeol said, “it’s not even like that so…”

“Wow, I suddenly understand how Soo feels when me and Jongdae are being dumb.” Baekhyun said.

“You have no room to talk,” Kyungsoo said, “We were dating for three weeks before you finally realized.”

“Why do you always have to bring that up,” Baekhyun whined.

“Because it’s my job.” Kyungsoo glanced at Jongdae and Chanyeol who were still shuffling awkwardly next to each other. “Come on, Baekhyun, let’s go get you your ice cream to soothe your poor, loser heart.”

Baekhyun changed his shoes quickly, and before Jongdae even had the chance to remember he came with them, they were walking out the door, Kyungsoo calling out “Get a ride with Chanyeol,” behind him. Jongdae stared after them.

“They abandoned me.”

Chanyeol patted his back. “There, there. It’ll be fine, I can give you a ride.”

“Thanks.” Jongdae smiled.

“So like, it was crazy what they were saying huh.” Chanyeol ran his hand through his hair. Jongdae could see a faint blush on his ears and neck.

“Oh, yeah…” Jongdae said. “Totally crazy.” His heart hammered in his chest.

A heavy silence settled over them. Jongdae couldn’t even hear the noisy alley around him or David Archuletta singing through the speakers as his blood pounded in his ears.

“So-”

“I was-”

Jongdae and Chanyeol spoke over each other. They both laughed awkwardly. 

“You can go first,” Jongdae said, expertly shifting the pressure onto Chanyeol.

“Uhh, well,” Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m not very good with words, but like, see, you’re like a 300 game - perfect. And like, yeah, wow that was really bad. Sorry.” 

Jongdae thought his heart was going to break out of his chest. God, Chanyeol was so cute even when he was making terrible pick up lines. And - wait. 

A pick up line.

A line in which someone uses to pick someone up.

As in a date way.

Oh my God, Chanyeol was trying to ask him out, and yeah that’s what Jongdae was planning to do before he let Chanyeol talk first but _still_. 

Oh wait Chanyeol was still talking.

“Really from the moment I saw you. And then you were just so passionate about improving so you could win. Not to mention the kids. I still can’t believe you spent $30 on pretzels for them, like who does that? Anyway, I’d love to spend more time with you even though you don’t need lessons anymore so if you ever want to go out sometime just let me know. We could do something besides bowling like a movie or dinner or skating or-”

“Chanyeol, stop.” Jongdae said. 

Chanyeol snapped his mouth shut.

“If you promise to never try another bowling pick up line again, I will gladly go on a date with you.”

Chanyeol beamed. “Really?”

“Yeah. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about going on a date with you since I saw you. Even though you were in the ridiculous shirt.”

“Hey, that shirt was a gift.”

“It’s still ridiculous.”

“Maybe. But you liked me enough in it so.”

“Don’t make me take that back.” Jongdae threatened.

“No!” Chanyeol said quickly. “Please don’t take it back.”

Jongdae smiled, “Take me to dinner and I won’t.”

Chanyeol mirrored his smile, “It’s a date.”

The date took place rather quickly. Jongdae changed out of his shoes, and then Chanyeol took him to a great restaurant with home cooking. It was nice to talk to each other in an establishment that played songs other than Nelly and Black Eyed Peas.

When their stomachs were full and their faces hurt from smiling and laughing, Chanyeol drove Jongdae home, just as Kyungsoo had planned. Jongdae didn’t know if Kyungsoo had also planned on them kissing over the console, but it was happening nonetheless.

Chanyeol’s lips were soft and warm against his own. It lasted for a brief moment, the two pulling apart from each other, both smiling softly. The corner of Chanyeol’s mouth turned up.

“I think I just hit the best strike of my life.”

Jongdae groaned at the truly awful pun, but it didn’t deter him from leaning in to steal another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u all for reading i hope u enjoyed! pls leave a kudos and a comment if u did! PS im just as bad as Jongdae at bowling. we are one.


End file.
